Southwark Fair

By 1733 the fair that filled Southwark each September had swollen from its old three days to nearly two weeks, and Hogarth painted it at full roar. Up on the left a whole stage of actors is collapsing, the scaffolding giving way beneath a booth that advertises 'The Fall of Bajazet,' a tragedy about a captured sultan. Below them the fair goes on regardless. A rope-dancer crosses above the rooftops, strolling players stand about in costume, a dancing dog is dressed like a little man, and a pickpocket is already at work on a distracted gentleman. Hogarth knew this ground, where the playhouses and the con artists shared the same few streets across the river from the City. The painted show-cloths hung outside each booth carried scenes for the crowd who could not read the printed titles beneath them.